On Friday, November 25th, Lord Selborne made a most sett.
Bible and statesmanlike speech in regard to the West Indies, in which he pointed out how the islands could produce articles of which the world was always demanding more,—chief among them tobacco and indiarnbber. Lord Selborne went on to say that the Government intended to propose a grant to meet the ruin caused by the hurricane, which, it is said, will be £75,000. We are extremely glad to hear it. Colonies ought, no doubt, to be self-supporting, but any disaster so exceptional and so terrible as the recent hurricane can quite properly be met by Imperial aid. Since Lord Selborne's speech it has been stated that some great English capitalists, including Sir Thomas Lipton, have been considering a scheme for developing the West Indies by means of British capital. We trust that this may be true, and we believe that the outlay will be remunerative. The ills of the West Indies will be cured by private energy and enterprise, and not by tampering with our fiscal system and raising the price of sugar—" keeping the price from fluctuating " is the euphemism of the neo-Protectionists—to the British consumer.
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